Abdul El‑Sayed asks Representative Haley Stevens to refrain from appearing with him after dispute over ad

U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El‑Sayed asked Democratic Representative Haley Stevens to distance herself from him and refrain from attending his campaign events until the vote on November 3, according to informed sources, in a move that came after a public dispute over a campaign advertisement that sparked wide controversy.

El‑Sayed defeated Stevens in the Michigan Democratic primary in early August. Stevens is expected to skip an event scheduled in Detroit tomorrow, Sunday, after El‑Sayed’s campaign asked her to avoid future joint appearances, according to those sources.

El‑Sayed’s step came more than two months after his victory over Stevens in the party primary, in what appeared to be an escalation of a dispute that could deepen party divisions ahead of the midterm elections. Democrats are seeking to defeat Republican nominee Mike Rogers to capture the seat currently held by Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who did not run for reelection.

Republicans hold a slim majority in both chambers of Congress, and the close contest between El‑Sayed and Rogers is one of the week’s most prominent races and could be decisive in determining control of the Senate.

Stevens said in a statement that she supports El‑Sayed, but she demanded that the advertisement she described as antisemitic be condemned and that he apologize for his previous remarks about Israel, according to the statement. The dispute centers on an ad released by a political action committee led by commentator Cenk Uygur that links U.S. support for Israel to rising food prices.

Jason Terkash, Stevens’s fiancé, said on a morning television show that he was unsure whether Stevens would attend a service at a Detroit church tomorrow alongside El‑Sayed and Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. The event had been expected to be an opportunity to show party unity, but it has become another test between two ambitious candidates within the Democratic ranks.